Search

University of Michigan choral group founded in 1859; includes correspondence, administrative records, musical scores, publicity material, photographs, posters and sound recordings in addition to digitized versions of records and born digital audio, video, and still images

The records of the Men's Glee Club date from 1886 to 2012 and were received in several major accessions. The first accession, covering 1886-1985 and 1991, includes four linear feet of manuscript, printed, and photographic material as well as posters, scrapbooks, and sound recordings in a variety of formats. The first accession has been divided into five series: Chronological File, Philip A. Duey Material, Photographs, Sound Recordings, Scrapbooks, and Archived Website.

The 1995 accession of the records of the Men's Glee Club were comprised of two linear feet of correspondence, photographs, and topical files ranging from 1919 to 1994. Items of particular interest include a folder of historical writings, which provides anecdotes, reflections, and facts about the club prepared for an exhibit on club history. The Press Releases folder is also of note, as it reflects information given out by the club to newspapers and other media of the towns they visited. Both of these folders are found in the Topical series. The records of this accession are divided into 3 series: Correspondence, Topical, and Visual Materials.

The 2010 accession to the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club records is organized into one series. The Sound Recordings series, 1952-1987, (10 linear feet) is comprised of University of Michigan Men's Glee Club concert recordings, including its annual fall and spring concert series. Many of the boxes of tape reel also include a concert program and concert set list.

The 2012 accession consisted entirely of digital materials (scanned images, audio files, video files, and still images) that added content to the Chronological Files series and established a China Concert Tour series. The 2018 accession consisted of phonograph records, which have been added to the Sound Recordings series, and publications.

Organized in 1879 to "cultivate the public taste for music," the Society sponsors concert series, opera, dance and theater performances at the University of Michigan. The records consist of director's files of Albert A. Stanley, Charles A. Sink, Gail Rector, and Kenneth Fischer; include correspondence relating to performances and management of the Society; ledgers and account books, board of directors minutes and packets; files concerning the Choral Union, the University of Michigan School of Music, the Henry S. Frieze Memorial Organ Fund, and Hill Auditorium; also visual materials and audiotapes of Board meetings.

The records of the University Musical Society document its founding in 1879, governance and administrative restructuring through the years, its activities sponsoring musical, dance and theatrical performances on campus, and its role in music and arts education. The records include directors' correspondence files, board of directors minutes, ledgers and financial records, photographs, sound recordings and videotapes.

Intellectually, the records are organized into eight series: Directors' Correspondence, Financial records, Historical file, Board of Directors, Committees, Topical File, Contracts, Photographs, President's Correspondence, Staff Files, Executive Directors' Files, and Motion Pictures (film, videotape and digital materials).

The records were received in several major and numerous small accessions and the physical arrangement of the records (the order in which they are arranged in boxes/folders) reflects this. In this finding aid, the records are described in term of their intellectual organization regardless of the particular accession in which they were received. As a result, the box number order in which the descriptions are displayed in the contents list will not always be consecutive.

Singing group established in 1902 as the University of Michigan Girls' Club before changing the name to Women's Glee Club in the 1940s. The group performed on campus and throughout Michigan as well as touring nationally and internationally. The group disbanded in 1953 and was reactivated in 1976. This records include concert programs and posters, fundraising information, correspondence, photographs, audio/visual recordings of performances, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks. Also included are administrative papers including budget information, schedules, rosters and rules.

The Women's Glee Club collection dates from 1903 to 2017 and is comprised of multiple accessions. Because these accessions came with little discernible structure, and because their contents overlapped, they were combined into one collection made up of printed and manuscript materials, as well as posters, scrapbooks, sound and video recordings in a few different formats. The collection has been divided into four series: Audio/Visual Materials, Topical File, Scrapbooks and Concert Posters. The first two series of the collection have been arranged alphabetically by topic, and chronologically within the files. The Scrapbooks series is contained in Box 2, and each scrapbook has retained its original organization.